Door bells



Nov. 17, 1959 F. F. BIERNACKI DOOR BELLS Filed July 29, 1958 Felix l-T Biernacki INVENTOR.

United States Patent "cc DOOR BELLS Felix F. Biernacki, Hazel Park, Mich. Application July 29, 1958, Serial No. 751,774 7 Claims. (Cl. 116-86) The present invention generally relates to a door bell and more particularly to a construction which will cause the actuation of bells upon opening or closing movement of a door.

An object of the present invention is to provide a door bell assembly mounted on a pivotal door and a door frame whereby movement of the door in relation to the stationary door frame will activate the bell or bells for ringing the same thus indicating to others that the door has been opened or closed while at the same time providing a pleasing ringing of the bells which will add to parties and celebrations of holidays such as at Christmas-time.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a door bell assembly which is extremely simple in construction, easy to install, well adapted for use in many places for various purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the door bell assembly of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the construction of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of Figure 1 illustrating the relationship of elements of the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the door bell assembly which is mounted on a pivotal door 12 disposed in a stationary door frame 14, the door being supported by conventional hinges 16.

The door bell assembly includes a bracket 18 mounted on the door frame 14 and including a horizontally extending flange 20 underlying a portion of the edge of the frame and secured thereto by fastening means 22. The upper edge of the bracket 18 which is disposed against the face of the frame 14 extends outwardly as designated by the numeral 24. Hingedly and frictionally mounted on the bracket 18 is an elongated arm 26 with a hinge pin 28 pivoting the arm to the outwardly projecting portion 24 of the bracket 18. The construction of the hinge pin 28 is such that the arm 26 is pivotal but will be frictionally retained in position for preventing free swinging movement of the arm 26 about the pivot pin 28. The arm 26 is slightly arcuated, one edge thereof being smooth as indicated by the numeral 30 and the other edge thereof being wavy or serpentine as designated by the numeral 32.

' The outer end of the arm 26 is rounded as designated by the numeral 34 and the entire arm may be constructed of wire like material having spaced bridging portions 36 for forming a rigid arm mounted on the bracket 18 for swinging movement in a generally horizontal plane.

Mounted on the door 12 is a generally L-shaped bracket 2,912,956 Patented Nov. 17, 1959 bracket 38 is a pair of converging support rods 42 secured to the bracket 38 as by welding 44 or the like.

Rigid with the outer ends of the support rods 42 is a pair of diverging rods 46 having aligned eye members 48 thereon. Also provided rigid with the support rods 42 is an upwardly curved and horizontally extending rod member 50 which is disposed above the plane of the rod members 46 and disposed therebetween. The outer end of the member 50 is provided with an adapter 52 having a notch 54 in the outer edge thereof for receiving and engaging the smooth surface 30 of the arm 26. The adapter 52 may be constructed of plastitc material for self-lubrication and sliding engagement with the arm 26. Also, the point of juncture between the rods 46 and 50 is provided with a projection 56 extending remotely of the adapter 52 for receiving one end of a .tension coil spring 58.

Extending between and through the eye members 48 is a bell supporting rod 60 having a pair of bells 62 and 64 rigid with the outer ends thereof for rotatable movement with the rod or shaft 60. The central part of the rod or shaft 60 is provided with an upstanding rod 66 having a. horizontally extending portion 68 terminating in an eye member 70 for receiving the other end of the spring 58 whereby the upstanding rod 60 will be urged towards the adapter 52. It is pointed out that the upstanding rod 66 is in the same vertical plane as the adapter 62 and includes a plastic sleeve 72 thereon for engagement with the wavy or serpentine edge 32 of the arm 26 in opposition to the groove 54 receiving and engaging the smooth surface of .the arm so that when the door 12 is pivoted and the arm 26 moves between the adapter 52 and sleeve 72, movement of the sleeve 72 over the wavy surface 32 will cause'oscillatory movement of the shaft 60 about its longitudinal axis thus causing the bells to ring or jingle. The spring 58 serves to retain the sleeve 72 against the wavy surface of the arm during movement of the door 12 towards or away from a closed position.

When the door 12 is moved to a full opened position, the arm 26 becomes disengaged from the adapter 52 and will be retained in its position by the frictional pivot pin 28 so that when the door 12 is moved back towards a closed position, the rounded end 34 will guide the arm 26 between the adapter 52 and sleeve 72. Thus, each time the door is opened or closed the bells 62 and 64 will be oscillated back and forth in a substantially positive manner for agitating the bells and causing the bells to ring due to contact between the body of the bell and the gong normally provided therein.

The arm 26 can be disengaged and swung inwardly into a suitable recess in the door jamb when the door is in its fully open position with the bell assembly separated from the arm. Inasmuch as the arm 26 is frictionally held in adjusted position in its horizontal plane, the arm will remain in the inactive position until it is manually returned to an operative position. Thus, the door bells may be activated or deactivated as desired by swinging the arm in a horizontal plane from an extended position to a retracted position.

By covering the areas in sliding and contacting engagement with each other with a plastic material, the noise provided by rapidmovement of the elements in relation to each other will be substantially eliminated so that only the noise of the bells ringing will be heard. Additionally, the various components of the invention may be constructed of any suitable material such as metal, plastic or the like.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention, Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those Skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a door actuated bell assembly, the combination of a bracket adapted to be secured to a swingable door, guide means carried by said bracket, an actuating arm adapted at one end thereof for a pivotal connection to a door frame for swinging movement in a plane parallel to the swinging of the door and slidable in said guide means when the door is'opened and closed, said arm having an undulated edge, a swingable bell carried by said bracket, and follower means rigidly connected to and swingable with said bell, said follower means operatively engaging the undulated edge of said arm whereby said bell may be swung when the door is opened and closed.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 together with resilient means provided on said bracket and connected to said follower means for urging the latter against the undulated edge of said arm.

3. In a door actuated bell assembly, the combination of a bracket adapted to be secured to a swingable door, a guide member carried by said bracket, an actuating arm adapted at one end thereof for a pivotal connection to a door frame for swinging movement in a plane parallel to the swinging of the door, said arm having an undulated longitudinal edge and an opposite longitudinal edge, said opposite longitudinal edge slidably engaging said guide member when the door is opened and closed, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bracket, a swingable bell rigidly secured to and depending from said shaft, a follower arm rigid with said shaft and swingable toward and away from said guide member, a follower element provided on said follower arm and operatively engaging the undulated edge of said actuating arm whereby said bell may be swung when the door is opened and closed, and a spring connected at one end thereof to said bracket and at its other end to said follower arm for urging said follower element in engagement with the undulated edge of the actuating arm.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said actuating arm has a free end adapted to be slidably disengaged and separated from said guide member when the door is fully opened, whereby to disengage said follower element from the undulated edge of the actuating arm and selectively render said bell inoperative during subsequent opening and closing of the door.

5. The combination of a door frame, a swingable door mounted therein, and a door actuated bell assembly comprising a bracket secured to said door, guide means carried by said bracket, an actuating arm pivotally connected at one end thereof to said door frame for swinging movement in a plane parallel to the swinging of the door and slidable in said guide means when the door is opened and closed, said arm having an undulated edge, a swingable bell carried by said bracket, and follower means rigidly connected to and swingable with said bell, said follower means operatively engaging the undulated edge of said arm whereby said bell may be swung when the door is opened and closed.

6. The combination as defined in claim 5 together with resilient means provided on said bracket and connected to said follower means for urging the latter against the undulated edge of said arm.

7. The combination as defined in claim 5 wherein said arm has a free outer end and is of such length in relation to the extent of swinging of said door as to be slidably withdrawn from said guide means when the door is fully opened, whereby to disengage said follower means from the undulated edge of said arm and selectively render said bell inoperative during subsequent opening and closing of the door.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 381,625 Great Britain Oct. 13, 1932 

